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A toy museum might not be the first place you’d expect to see an exhibition devoted to Marilyn Monroe, and yet, Basels’ Spielzeug Welten Museum – the Toy Worlds Museum – is the place to be if you want to pay homage to this legendary icon of the silver screen. Running until the 6th of April 2014, the museum proudly plays host to the ‘Private Marilyn’ exhibition, exploring the person behind the concept of Monroe, looking behind the façade of this glamorous Hollywood starlet.

With more than 700 items of original memorabilia and personal items on display in Switzerland for the very first time, this private collection, the largest in Europe, belongs to Ted Stampfer, a leading authority on Marilyn and aims to highlight Monroe’s lesser-known private side beyond her well-publicised marriages and liaisons with JFK.

Beyond the temporary Marilyn exhibition, the museum’s permanent collection makes for a fascinating visit for both adults and children alike and well worth taking the time to explore if you happen to be enjoying a short break in Basel. Not only will you find the most extensive ensemble of teddy bears – over 2,500 – in and from around the world, there’s also an impressive array of dolls dating back to the heyday of doll manufacturing (1870 – 1920) in addition to doll’s houses, miniatures, carrousels, shops and schools.

The Spielzeug Welten Museum is open daily from 10am until 6pm (closed Christmas Day and 10 – 12 March inclusive; be aware of shortened opening times over the Christmas and Easter periods). Entrance costs CHF 7 (CHF 5 concessions) and is free for accompanied children up to 16 years of age.

With a French grandmother, childhood holidays on the continent and a degree in French and Spanish, a love of languages and travel has always been in my blood. Fresh from university with an unfettered enthusiasm to show off my linguistic ability and first-hand knowledge of the world beyond the UK, I entered the travel industry and, 16 years on, I’m still there!
With several years spent in the luxury sector planning escorted holidays across Europe for the American market, followed by an even longer tenure designing short breaks with a difference in the must-see cities of Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Amsterdam, Madrid, Prague, Florence, Brussels, Venice, Salzburg, Milan, Krakow and Berlin (to name but a few), it’s fair to say that Europe is my passion!
Today my travels have taken me far beyond the boundaries of Europe with so many destinations still to discover, yet the continent abounds in such a wealth of treasures – historical and architectural, cultural and musical, gastronomic, artistic and linguistic – that its appeal, for me, will be eternal.